Condenser unit



Oct. 8, 1935- J. H. BECKMAN CONDENSER UNIT Filed Jan. 23, 2 sheets sheet l IN VEN TOR. M w. BY 0 Oi ATTORNE S.

Oct. 8, 1935. H: BECKMAN 2,016,587

CONDENSER UNIT Filed Jan. 25,v 1935 2 SheetsSheet 2 Z NINVENTOR. N1? M 75 "Ymun- Qa mmwg Q r ATTORNE s.

Patented Oct. 8, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONDENSER UNIT Jacob H; Beckman, Oakland, Calif.

Application January 23, 1935, Serial No. 3,020

8 Claims. (Cl. 257-35) This invention relates to condensers and especially to improvements in construction and operation of the type of condenser disclosed in my Patent Number 1,821,287 entitled Ammonia condenser, issued September 1st, 1931.

The object of the present invention is generally to improve and simplify the construction and operation of condensers of the character described; to provide a condenser structure in which the cooling or condensing surface areas are very materially increased; to provide a condenser in which cleaning of the water circulating and cooling tubes is facilitated and in which individual tubes may be shut off from the circulating system and cleaned without interfering with the continuous operation of the condenser; to provide a water circulating system in which the water in the cooling tower or other source of supply first flows over the discharge ends of the condenser tubes then through the tubes in a direction counter-flow to the vapors and finally over the intake ends of the condenser tubes so as to insure the greatest heat transfer possible; and, further, to provide means for cooling and thereby de-superheating the incoming vapors or gases to be condensed and simultaneously condensing and trapping oil or other vapors ,before the condensing tubes are reached.

The condenser is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the same.

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view showing one of the temperature measuring mercury wells.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the condenser unit.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the condenser unit, said view being partially broken away and parts being shown in section, said View showing only a portion of a few bafiie plates.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross section of the condenser unit taken on line VV of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a plan view similar to Fig. 3, but showing one of the condenser tubes in section.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged vertical section of the intake end of one of the condenser tubes.

Referring to the drawings in detail, andv particularly Figs. 6 and 7, 2 indicates a water flow tube and 3 a surrounding condenser tube. The tube 3 is of larger diameter than the tube 2 and an annular space or passage 4 is thus formed which is provided for the reception and'flow of vapors to be condensed, as will hereinafter be described.

The condenser tube is closed at each end as shown at 5 and is secured to the tube 2 by welding or any other suitable means. Nipples 6 and l are condenser tubes through which they pass.

formed at opposite ends of the condenser tube and these are welded or otherwise connected to similar nipples on adjacent tubes. When they are assembled in superimposed relation, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the nipples 6 at one end of the con- 5 denser tubes form an inlet header whereby the gases or vapors to be condensed are admitted and the nipples 1 form a discharge header through which the condensate discharges, as will hereinafter be described.

The water flow tubes 2 are longer than the A T or like pipe fitting is applied to each end of each water tube and the outer ends of the Ts are provided with removable closure plugs 8. One side 15 of each T is connected by a nipple to a valve 9 or ID and these valves are, in turn, connected with water headers H and I2. Water from a cooling tower or other suitable source of supply is delivered through pipe l3 into a sprinkler head l4. 2() This is disposed directly above the condenser tubes adjacent the discharge ends thereof. The water delivered flows downwardly over the exterior surfaces of the tubes and is directed from tube to tube by baflle or deflector plates l5 arranged between the tubes as shown in Fig. 5; the water being finally collected by a pan or tank I6 which is connected with a pump l6a. This pump delivers the water to'the header l2 and this, in turn, directs the water to the tubes 2 in the direction counter-flow to the vapors passing through the condenser tubes 3. After passage through the tubes 2 the water is received by the header l I and this delivers the water through pipes H to a sprinkler head l8. This is positioned similar to the sprinkler head H but adjacent the inlet'ends of the condenser tubes. The water again flows over the exterior surfaces of the condenser tubes and is collected by a pan or tank l9 from which it is removed by the pump 20, and by this is returned through pipe 2| to the cooling tower (not shown) to be used over and over again.

In all refrigerating systems employing ammonia, or a similar refrigerating medium. which is alternately subjected to expansion and compression a compressor of one type or another must be employed. The compressed gases discharging from the compressor are fairly high in temperature, usually 250 F. or more, and they invariably contain a certain amount of oil vapors liberated by the lubricant employed in the compressor. These vapors usually escape the oil traps provided and pass into the condenser and from there enter the expansion coils, coating the 55 inner surfaces of the same and materially reducing the efficiency of the plant.

In the present structure any chance of Oil vapor entering the condenser or the expansion coils is entirely eliminated as the hot gases discharging from the compressor are delivered by the pipe indicated at 22 into a container 23 which, at all times is maintained approximately half full of liquid ammonia. A bafiie plate 2 placed within the container directs the hot incoming gases through the liquid ammonia, causing a material drop in temperature, condensation of the oil vapors contained, and de-superheating of the gas.

After passage through the liquid ammonia the partly cooled and saturated gas enters a water jacketed condensing column 25 where partial condensation takes place, the amount of condensate produced being just sufficient to maintain a constant level in the container 23, which level is maintained by an overflow pipe 26, any. excess produced discharging through this pipe and being collected in a final receiving tank or container 2?. Water is circulated through the jacketed distilling column 25 through pipes 28 and 29 and one of the pipes is provided with a valve 39 so that the amount of cooling water passing through the jacket may be regulated and through such regulation it is also possible to control the amount of condensate produced and returned to the tank or container 23.

The partly cooled gases discharge from the top of the condensing column through a pipe 35 and this is connected with the upper end of the vapor header 8 from where the gases pass through the several condenser tubes, and in passing therethrough are completely condensed, the condensate produced draining toward the header ll and'discharging therefrom into the receiving container 2'6 from which they are returned to the expansion coils by pipe 32 to complete the cycle of operation. The oil vapors condensed and trapped in the container 23, by passage of gases through the liquid ammonia, settle in a cylindrical extension or trap 23a forming a part of the container and may be blown on from time to time through a pipe 3%. Both of the containers 23 and 21 are provided with gauge glasses, as shown, and the amount of liquid ammonia contained is thus at all times visibly indicated.

Mercury wells of the type shown in Fig. 2 are provided at the points indicated at Mi, 4!, A2 and ift. A thermometer of suitable type, such as indicated at 45, (see Fig. 2), may be placed in each well and the temperature of the gases or vapors passing through the system can thus be determined at diiferent points.

The condenser unit here shown converts the superheated ammonia gas discharged from the compressor into the saturated vapor before it enters the distilling column 25 and the condenser tubes. This increases the capacity of the condenser approximately eight times.

The liquid ammonia in the container 23 washes out all of the oil and oil vapors from the ammonia gas discharged from the compressor before the ammonia vapor enters the condenser tubes, keeping the tubes free from oil, reduces head pressure and gives .a lower condensing temperaother are connected by the vertical headers indicated at 5 and l. The gases are delivered to the inlet header and flow through the condenser tubes, which are cooled both from the exterior and the interior, and in passing through these 5 tubes are condensed and discharged into the header 7. The condensed and purified liquid ammonia is received by the tank or container 21 and at that point is cooled to a temperature which is approximately 2 F. above that of the water 10 leaving the condenser.

In this arrangement each tube acts as an independent condenser and the coolest tubes will produce the largest amount of condensate. The baifle plates l5 disposed on opposite sides of the 15 tubes are arranged so that the water is distributed over the full length of each tube in a thin film. These plates prevent any spray of Water from leaving the condenser tubes when air is passing over the same and to that extent the structure 2 might be termed a combined condenser and cooling tower as considerable heat is removed from the water by air circulation.

The baiiie plates, referring to Fig. 5, are supported by pins Lid and as such may be quickly 25 and readily removed, one at a time, thereby permitting scale or sediment to be washed or otherwise removed from the exterior surfaces of the condenser tubes.

The condenser as a whole operates on a small 30 quantity or water due to the circulation system employed, the amount of make-up waterbeing very small.

The condenser is a one-piece construction all joints being preferably welded so that they may 35 be inspected from the outside, hence should there be any leaks it would not be difficult to detect them.

Due to the arrangement of the plugs 8 at opposite ends of the water circulating tubes, it is 40 possible to quickly remove them and thereby clean the interior of the water circulating tubes indicated at 2, and when th'm is done the valves 9 and iii may be shut off permitting one tube at a time to be cleaned without disturbing the con- 45 tinuous operation of the condenser; the cleaning of the exterior of the condenser tubes being similarly accomplished without interrupting the operation of the condenser, and as all of these surfaces may be cleaned as often as desired high 50 condenser efiiciency is maintained.

The heat transference between the condenser tubes and the circulating water is eficiently maintained in the present instance due to the threepass flow of circulating water; that is, the water 55 is first passed over the exterior surfaces of the condenser tubes from the sprinkler head 14. It is then directed from the header i2 through the tubes 2 which deliver the water to the header II from where it is returned to the sprinkler head 60 l8, and from there it again flows over the exterior surfaces of the tubes to be finally collected and returned to the cooling tower. This three-pass circulation of water is counter-flow to that of the gases or vapors to be condensed, the warmest 55 Water passing over the portions of the condenser where the hottest gases enter and the coolest water over the portions of the condenser where the condensate is being discharged, thereby obtaining a condensate which seldom varies a tie-'70 gree or two more than that of the water leaving the condenser.

The condenser structure is exceedingly simple, compact and substantial in construction. Vertically disposed clamping plates such as shown at 75 through the water tubes over the exterior sur- 50, 50, 5i and 52 52' arranged in pairs are disposed on opposite sides of the condenser tubes and are held together by bolts such as shown at 53, see Fig. 5. These clamping plates terminate in leg members 54 whereby the condenser as a whole is supported, and they not only aid in stiffening and reinforcing the condenser as a whole, but they also serve as a support for the bafile plates l5 and the pins l5a supporting the same.

While the condenser has particularly been described in connection with an ammonia refrigerating system, obviously it may be used in conjunction with steam plants, oil refining equipment, etc., and while other features of the invention have been more or less specifically described, I wish it understood that various changes may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims. Similarly, that the materials and finish of the sever-a1 parts employed may be such as the manufacturer may decide, or varying conditions or uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a condenser of the character described a plurality of condenser tubes having water tubes extending through them, means for conveying vapors to be condensed to one end of the condenser tubes and for discharging the condensate from the opposite ends, means for maintaining a flow of water over the exterior surfaces of the condenser tubes adjacent the discharge ends thereof, means for directing said water after fiowing over the condenser tubes through the water tubes in a direction counter-flow to the vapors, and means for directing the water after passage through the water tubes over the exterior surfaces of the condensing tubes adjacent the vapor inlet ends.

2. In a condenser of the character described a plurality of condenser tubes having Water tubes extending through them, means for conveying vapors to be condensed to one end of the condenser tubes and for discharging the condensate from the opposite ends, means for maintaining a flow of water over the exterior surfaces of the condenser tubes adjacent the discharge ends thereof, means for .directing said water after flowing over the condenser tubes through the water tubes in a direction counter-flow to the vapors, means for directing the water after passage through the water tubes over the exterior surfaces of the condensing tubes adjacent the vapor inlet ends, and baffle plates interposed between the condenser tubes to direct the water flowing over the exterior surfaces of the tubes from one tube to another.

3. In a condenser of the character described a plurality of condenser tubes having water tubes extending through them, means for conveying vapors to be condensed to one end of the condenser tubes and for discharging the condensate from the opposite ends, means for maintaining a flow of water over the exterior surfaces of the condenser tubes adjacent the discharge ends thereof, means for directing said water after fiowing over the condenser tubes through the Water tubes in a direction counter-flow to the vapors, means for directing the water after passage faces of the condensing tubes adjacent the vapor inlet ends, vertically disposed clamping plates engaging opposite sides of the condenser tubes,

bolts extending through said plates and clamping 5 the condenser tubes between them, said plates being spaced apart and removable baflie plates supported by said clamping plates, said bafiie plates being disposed between the condenser tubes to direct the water flowing over the exterior surfaces of the same from one tube to another.

4. In a condenser of the character described a pair of vertically disposed spaced water headers, a plurality of spaced superimposed water tubes connecting the headers, valves for each water tube controlling the flow of Water through the individual tubes, a condenser tube supporting each water tube, said water tubes projecting beyond the opposite ends of the projecting tubes, and a removable closure means at the opposite ends of the water tubes to permit cleaning of the same.

5. In a condenser of the character described a water flow tube, a condenser tube supporting the same and of larger diameter to form a vapor fiow passage exterior of the water flow, said condenser tube being sealed at each end to said water tube and said water flow tube projecting beyond the sealed ends of the condenser .tube, a removable closure member at each end of the water flow tube to permit interior cleaning of the water flow tube, a valve controlled water flow connection at each end of the water fiow tube at a point intermediate the closures and the sealed ends of the condenser tubes, and an inlet and a discharge connection at opposite ends of the condenser tubes for the admission of vapors and the discharge of condensate.

6. In a condenser of the character described a plurality of superimposed condenser tubes, a plurality of pairs of vertically disposed clamping bars engaging opposite sides of the tubes, and removable bafile plates supported by the clamping bars and disposed on opposite sides of the tubes and between them.

7. In a condenser of the character described a plurality of superimposed condenser tubes, a plu-- rality of pairs of vertically disposed clamping bars engaging opposite sides of the tubes, a plurality of pins secured between each clamping bar, and removable baffle plates supported by the pins and disposed on opposite sides of the tubes and between them.

8. In a condenser of the character described the combination of the condenser tubesand the delivery pipe for hot gases to be condensed, of a sealed container with which the delivery pipe is connected, means for maintaining a predetermined level of liquid in said container, a baffle member in the container directing the incoming hot gases through the liquid, a condenser column interposed between the container and. the condenser tubes from which condensate is returned to the container, said column being water jacketed, and means for regulating the fiow of water through said jacket to control condensate in said column.

JACOB H. BECKMAN. 

